Brighton vs Aston Villa: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Aston Villa make the trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening in the Premier League as both sides vie for Champions League qualification.

The pair were in FA Cup quarter-final action over the weekend but only Villa secured their place at Wembley Stadium for the semis after Marcus Rashford inspired them to victory over Preston North End. Unfortunately for Brighton, they suffered penalty shootout heartbreak at the hands of Nottingham Forest.

The Seagulls will be aiming to bounce back as they chase a top four berth. They're currently just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea with nine games to play and have won four and drawn one of their last five Premier League outings.

The Villans will leapfrog their south coast hosts with victory at the Amex Stadium and also enter the encounter in impressive form. They have won their last five matches in all competitions and will be aiming to extend that run ahead of a clash with Forest on Saturday.

Here is 90min's guide to the battle.

Brighton vs Aston Villa head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Brighton vs Aston Villa on TV - UK & US

Brighton team news

Georginio Rutter was injured in the FA Cup / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Georginio Rutter and Adam Webster were casualties of Brighton's FA Cup clash at the weekend and Fabian Hurzeler has ruled both out of contention for Wednesday's clash. They join Igor, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Tariq Lamptey and Jason Steele in the treatment room.

Hurzeler suggested that Mats Wieffer and Solly March are options against Villa but the Brighton boss didn't comment on the progress of Joel Veltman, who has been missing since mid-February but is expected back soon.

Brighton predicted lineup vs Aston Villa

Brighton predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Hinshelwood, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Baleba, Gomez; Minteh, Gruda, Mitoma; Pedro.

Aston Villa team news

Marcus Rashford may have earned another start / Matt McNulty/GettyImages

Villa can't sympathise with Brighton's injury woes at present, with Unai Emery only missing Ross Barkley due to a calf problem. The midfielder is expected to make his comeback in the coming weeks.

Emery is not expected to make many alterations from the side that beat Preston with ease at the weekend, although Ollie Watkins and John McGinn should come back into the team. Jacob Ramsey and Boubacar Kamara could be the pair to make way.

Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Brighton (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Rogers, Asensio, Rashford; Watkins.

Brighton vs Aston Villa score prediction

There was nothing to separate these two attack-minded outfits back in December's duel - which finished 2-2 - and Wednesday's battle could prove similarly tight.

There will be fatigue in both camps after FA Cup matches at the weekend - especially for Brighton, who played 120 minutes against Forest - but the duo have the capacity to beat anybody on their day.

Brighton boast home advantage but Villa have the deeper and fitter squad. Perhaps both will gladly accept a point.